Lincoln Men's Golf Wins PGA Collegiate National Championship

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - Four members of the Lincoln men's golf team carded sub-80 scores, and the Blue Tigers won their fifth PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship on Sunday. The Blue Tigers were the only team in field to register a combined score less than 900, finishing with a three-round total of 898 to win the Division II title. It marked the lowest final score in program history by the Blue Tigers at the PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship.

Steven Mallow finished third in the individual standings, closing play with a 74 after firing a 71 on Friday and a 75 on Saturday. His final tally of 220 was three strokes better than teammate Nick Goeke, who shot a 223 after tallying rounds of 76, 72 and 75. Austin Wheeler had the next-best finish for LU, firing three rounds under 80 with scores of 72, 78 and 76 to finish the tournament with a three-round score of 226.

Kenny Conrad shot a 77 on Sunday to finish with a final score of 234. Conrad had previously shot an 81 in the first round before rebounding to card a 76 on the second. Eric Kosmatka rounded out the team's play at the tournament, ending with a 237 after shooting rounds of 76, 80 and 81.

Lincoln's team score of 898 was more than 20 shots better than the next-closest competitor, as Texas A&M International took second place with a team score of 922. Virginia State finished third (932), Virginia Union took fourth (961) and Fayetteville State, which won the championship over Lincoln in 2012, finished in fifth with a score of 963. Morehouse placed sixth (983) while Paine finished seventh (988) and St. Augustine's rounded out the eight team field with a score of 1,015.

This marks the fifth Minority Collegiate Golf Championship in the history of the Lincoln men's golf program, and the first national title since taking the 2005 championship with a final score of 928. Lincoln had also previously won the championship in 1999 (906), 2001 (904) and 2002 (914).

The 27th PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship, Presented by Brown Capital Management, was played in Port St. Lucie, Fla. on the Ryder Course of the PGA Golf Club.